Monday, March 31, 2008

This week, Al Gore has launched the "we" campaign, a project of the nonprofit he founded, The Alliance for Climate Protection. The goal of the "we" campaign is to educate the U.S. and the world about the need for action on climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The campaign also urges elected officials to take action toward solutions, provides suggestions and solutions for individuals, corporations, and governments, urges the media to ask elected officials more questions on climate change, and asks lenders to consider climate impact when funding new coal plants.

The campaign will reach people through advertising, online organizing, and partnerships with grass-roots groups. You can watch the first television advertisement and other videos on their website. At their site, you can sign up for action alerts, read success stories of individuals and businesses, watch for the opening of the "we" carbon neutral store, and learn more about the campaign.

Clean Air Lawn Care (Fort Collins CO) was started in 2005 by Kelly Giard. The company uses solar-powered lawn mowers for yard care. Trucks are equipped with solar panels to recharge the mowers throughout the day. When it is not possible to use solar-powered mowers, they use conventional mowers fueled with biodiesel. They will also remove yard waste to an organic waste recycling center, where available. The company purchases carbon offsets for the business and is carbon neutral.

On their website, you'll find an online calculator to determine the carbon emissions of your current mowing methods. You'll also find a $1000 scholarship application for environmentally-minded students preparing to enroll in college for the first time; deadline for applications is May 1, 2008.

Sustainable & Responsible Business of the Week: If they can do it, so can you!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

This Saturday, March 29 is Earth Hour 2008. Cities, businesses, and individuals around the world are asked to turn off non-essential lighting for 60 minutes (8-9pm local time) "to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming."

To date, over 250,000 individuals and 18,000 businesses have signed up to participate. Have you? Visit their website to register.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Ford Motor Company and ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition are teaming up for "Educate to Escape." The contest allows you to nominate the school of your choice for an eco-friendly makeover valued at up to $250,000. In 250 words or less, you must explain why the school deserves a green makeover. The contest ends May 18, 2008.

In addition to supporting sustainable agriculture, the White Dog Cafe partners with "sister" restaurants in the area which are minority-owned. "The purpose of this project is to encourage our customers to visit neighborhoods they otherwise might not go to in order to increase understanding, build citywide community, and support minority businesses and cultural institutions." Their sister restaurant project also has an international dimension. "Our purpose is to promote better understanding in the world community by opening up new avenues of communication, beginning with our mutual interest in food. We envision a world where everyone has a place at the global table, believing that world peace is achieved through dialogue and understanding, and the achievement of economic justice, rather than through military and economic domination." The international program offers educational tours to the countries of international sister restaurants, a chef exchange program, hosts international visitors, and promotes Fair Trade.

White Dog Cafe has a mentoring program with a local high school's restaurant, hotel, and tourism program, organizes community tours through different Philadelphia neighborhoods, hosts annual multicultural events, participates in Take a Senior to Lunch Day, and hosts speakers each month on various social and policy issues.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Ventura, California had a "double green" theme this year by promoting an evironmental message for St. Patrick's Day. Saturday's (March 15) parade included unicyclists promoting pedal power as well as entries promoting composting and recycling. After the parade, a green-themed party was planned with a hybrid car on display, drought-tolerant plant and compost give aways, and a Best Green Costume contest judged upon environmental message and use of materials.

So it was just a matter of time before you could convert your own waste into energy with a home unit. According to Forbes Magazine, a company in India, Sintex Industries, has created a biogas digester (pictured above) that can convert "human excrement, cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity." The unit is reported to cost approximately $425.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Mom's Best Naturals (Northfield MN) offers a product line of all natural breakfast cereals, oats, and oatmeal. Their products have no artificial ingredients, no artificial colors or flavors, no hydrogenated oil, and no high fructose corn syrup.

In addition to their healthy line of cereals, Mom's Best Naturals' factory in Northfield, Minnesota recycles over 99% of its waste, has reduced water usage in the manufacturing process by 41%, has reduced energy usage by 10%, their cartons are made from recycled paperboard, and they purchase 100% of their energy through windpower. Each year, they also host an Energy Fair to educate and inform employees and the public on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Mom's Best Naturals is part of Malt-O-Meal, a family-owned company founded in 1919.

Sustainable & Responsible Business of the Week: If they can do it, so can you!

You know sustainability is reaching mainstream when it impacts every industry in some way, including the sex industry. You can read an article at Greenpeace or at Grist to understand why "going green" is important in this case, particularly as it relates to the use of potentially hazardous PVC plastics in an industry that is unregulated.

For the socially conscious, there are French Letter condoms made from fair trade rubber and numerous fair trade items are available through the fair trade sex shop, Coco de Mer (founded by daughter of The Body Shop's Anita Roddick). For the environmentally conscious, there are now porn sites just for you, such as FFF and VegPorn.

When asked about the wisdom of producing vehicles that run on ethanol, given its "questionable" benefits, he accused the American Petroleum Institute of running a multi-million dollar smear campaign against ethanol

His opinion that both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton's plans to raise fuel standards to 40 mpg in the next decade are unrealistic

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists' Automaker Rankings 2007: The Environmental Performance of Car Companies (of all automakers responsible for 96% of cars in the US), GM is ranked next to last. Their key finding about GM? "General Motors crawls out of the basement—barely. GM is the top peddler of vehicles rated at 15 mpg or worse in city driving."

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Indigenous Designs (Santa Rosa CA) was founded in 1994 by Scott Leonard and Matt Reynolds. The company sells organic fair trade fashions created by their own artisan network across South America. All items are hand-made by artisans using traditional techniques, natural colors, natural dyes, and low-impact dyes. Indigenous Designs also partners with non-governmental organizations and others to help provide training, educational materials, and equipment to the artisans.

In addition to organic fair-trade fashions, Indigenous Designs purchases local green power to offset carbon emissions from their business activities, encourages employees to bike to work, and claims that about 20% of employees own and drive hybrid or biodiesel cars.